Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

And congrats on the move! Good luck with settling in :)

Yay, Murderbot!! I recommend it to complete strangers and friends (hence why Judith knows I love it). It is tied for my all-time favorite series. I cannot wait for the next one in a few days. My other favorite recommendations are The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet series (I adore the most recent one).

Recently, I have also enjoyed Winter's Orbit and The Thirty Names of Night.

Alright! Redshirt Intro Take Two!

I'm Redshirt (They/Them) and I live in Washington state. I just moved here from Virginia last May and am now moving from an apartment to a house. It's been pretty hectic for me, my partner, and our three cats (Khajiit, BB8, and Susuwatari "Soot" or "Susu"). I am an environmental, safety and health program manager for an engineering company that specializes in ship repair and building. Before that, I was a nonferrous supervisor for a metal recycling facility. And before that, I was an officer in the US navy! I love to travel (especially to meet my online friends) and have a trifecta of hobbies: reading, writing, and gaming (board, video, tabletop) when I'm not participating in 5Ks or volunteering.

I've been a reader since I was old enough to sit up in my crib and flip pages. Before I started working on GR contests, I was averaging maaaaybe 5 books a month. I started looking for book clubs and here I am thanks to the pandemic. I love scifi/fantasy, but have been making a concerted effort to try to read things outside of my comfort zone. I'm excited to see what books everyone else reads so I can add more fan favorites to my TBR list. I've dropped everyone a friend request! Don't worry if you're saturated with friends, I won't be upset if anyone refuses the connection.

My partner has been pushing more Disc World novels on me and I love DEATH, Sam Vines, The Librarian (which suits me perf here!), and Rincewind. I've recently finished The Watch series and it's haaaaaa-mazing.

Books I'm looking forward to reading: Fugitive Telemetry (the latest of Martha Wells' books, due out next week, I SEE YOU JUDITH AND LEXI /finger guns/) and The Foundling (BOM.) I've been trying to work through the Outlander series and The Expanse which should give us plenty of page number points over the next several months.

Otherwise, I have no idea where to start with this contest. There are so many moving parts and I'm not entirely familiar with the discussion questions bit. What does it mean by a days' worth? Can a single book be utilized for the story, bingo, and page numbers sheets on the Gdoc?

I would recommend The Letter. It is a mystery with two timelines and as the story progresses, more of it makes sense.

And if people are more interested in a more classic story, Goodnight Mister Tom was a book I read several times as a child/teenager and would happily read again.

Also I know quite a few of you have already, but feel free to add me as a friend if you would like to.

Hi Everyone! I'm a bit late as I hadn't checked my goodreads in a few days. My name is Kirby and I'm a student in North Carolina studying accounting. I've never done a Tower Teams before, so I'm already feeling a little lost, but very excited to give it a go. In my free time I like to go on walks with my new puppy Walter. I've just recently gotten back into reading, so I'm learning more about what genres I'm interested in as I've gotten older. As of late I'm interested in thrillers, (very light) fantasy, literary fiction, and the occasional romance. I've read through this page, but if anyone has any pointers on where to start, I would greatly appreciate it!

Happy reading :)

Answering Questions:
What does it mean by a days' worth?
BOM are split into sections and the person who has that section has to post some questions. Answering one set of questions for a section of the book is a day so you have to answer at least three sections. It means you do not have to answer all the questions.


Can a single book be utilized for the story, bingo, and page numbers sheets on the Gdoc?
Every book is used for page numbers and then one other category: tasks, bingo, or story

I've read through this page, but if anyone has any pointers on where to start, I would greatly appreciate it!

Now that we have everyone, Judith or one of us co-captains will discuss the general rules for books. Then, the big rule to start with is don't start books before the May 1 start date and we can help you figure it from there.

Kirby wrote: "Hi Everyone! I'm a bit late as I hadn't checked my goodreads in a few days. My name is Kirby and I'm a student in North Carolina studying accounting. I've never done a Tower Teams before, so I'm al..."

Hi Kirby! I'm also in NC! I would ask about which area you are in but I've only been here about a year and a half and haven't branched out yet. It's fun to see another person in the same area though!

I recommend
The Ten Thousand Doors of January
and The Golem and the Jinni its long but so good.

if looking for a fun series try the One for the Money

Love, love, love Murderbot and was so excited that my partner in crime decided to read the series since I couldn't stop talking about it. I was holding off on reading Network Effect until we go closer to Fugitive Telemetry release date. Now I'm behind ;)

So some recent favs for me...have to agree with The House in the Cerulean Sea...just brings me joy!

Migrations really stuck with me earlier this year, it's an environmental dystopia, love story kind of read. Not everyone will love it though.

The Last Sun series has also been keeping me completely entertained.

To all the Murderbot fans: oh yeah, count me in. Earlier in the month I finished my reread (re-listen, actually) of the original novellas and Network Effect and I can't wait for Fugitive Telemetry. I pre-ordered it June 2nd of last year, so I'm very ready. I keep thinking that I'll delay reading it so it counts for TT, but who am I kidding? If it downloads at midnight, I'll probably read it before I go to sleep (thank goodness I'm off the 27th.)

Lexi - I've been enjoying the Wayfarers series, too, although I haven't yet read the most recent book. I'm also pretty excited about Winter's Orbit, but if I wait on the library for it, it's going to be a few months. I keep trying to resist ordering it. And The House in the Cerulean Sea is waiting on my Kindle for me to get to it....

Redshirt: I keep trying to get through the Outlander series. I've read up through Drums of Autumn twice and stalled out. I absolutely love the Lord John books, though. Have you read them?

I have a similar problem with The Expanse series. I've read and enjoyed Leviathan Wakes twice, and started and stopped Caliban's War twice. Maybe you'll inspire me!

Keely - I'm a sucker for a dual timeline story. I'll have to check out The Letter.

Kirby and Jen - I used to live in NC! That puts three of us in the Southeast (I'm in GA.)

Joyce - I've got The Ten Thousand Doors of January on my Kindle. Soon..... And while I think I've finally given up on reading more of the series, I've loved Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series for years. So tell me: Ranger or Joe?

My faovrite work of literary fiction is Possession by A.S. Byatt; my favorite play is Tom Stoppard's Arcadia (I know, plays don't count for TT). Beyond that, it gets a little tricky.

For science fiction readers, I'd have to suggest either of S K Dunstall's series, the completed Linesman series or the ongoing Stars Uncharted series, neither of which I think has gotten the attention they deserve.

Snowtulip wrote: "Love, love, love Murderbot and was so excited that my partner in crime decided to read the series since I couldn't stop talking about it. I was holding off on reading Network Effect..."

I missed your post - it took me too long to compose my own. It's so exciting to find so much appreciation for Murderbot. Have you not read Network Effect at all? Or were you delaying your reread? In any case, you need to get to it! Less than a week to go!

Stars Uncharted is on my TBR, I may have to bump it up :)

I know, I don’t know why I haven’t started Network Effect yet, I may have a read a thon this weekend :D

Hmm, these Murderbot series recs keep popping up everywhere and I'm very curious. Not a big sci-fi fan but now I must look it up!

My resent favorite read that I can recommend is The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender . Beautiful story for Magical Realism lovers. Also all Sarah Addison Allen books.

If there are any Paranormal Romance readers, check out Samantha Young's True Immortality series. So good. No instalove, plenty of fae magic and lot of paranormal action. Second book Kiss of Vengeance is my fave so far but they are all great and can be read as standalones.

So many great recommendations! I'll work on getting them all up and post my own soon. Probably won't get to that until later today though. I wanted to get some of the basics explained so people don't feel as overwhelmed (hopefully).

Hello hello from Team DEATH!

If you have a few recommendations to spare, please feel free to drop by our thread to let us know your suggestions.

And if you want to stick around for some banter, that's fine, too. You could bring some food and/or cocktails if you want. That's always nice. ;-)

General NBRC challenge rules for Tower Teams (aside from book length these are almost always the same for our challenges).

Book rules
-All books used for TT must not be started until the challenge officially begins on May 1st, with the time relevant to your time zone (countdown in the top post for important links).
-Books must be at least 100 pages in length.
-Books with a main page genre (MPG) listed as MPGs Childrens / Kids / Illustrated / Photography / Art must be at least 25,000 words. Captains can check this for you, preferably before you read it so there are no unpleasant surprises.
Example: The Bad Beginning, 176pgs, but only 24,130 words so does not qualify. But the next in series does.
The Reptile Room, 192pgs, and 29,139 words.
-Audio books are allowed. For page counts, use the default Goodreads edition.
-If the audio book is audio only (there isn't a 'regular book' version) the book defaults to 100pgs regardless of the audio length. Also the audio book must be at least 3hrs long. Unless the audio is really short I would save these for after the challenge is over.
-Books do not have to read in English, as long as the standard criteria is met, the book can be read in any language.
-Re-reads are fine but it has to be at least 6 months from when you last finished the book.
-Points are per page so make sure you log/shelve the book version you actually read. Pages lengths can vary greatly between versions.
-Any book over 1,000 pages are capped at 100 points. So this may not be the time to read the unabridged version of Les Misérables that clocks in around 1,600pgs. But if it makes you happy, don't let me stop you.
-No graphic novels, cookbooks or poetry. If you've played in the past, this may be a change for you. But due to drama and issues of fairness, we've just made it a clean break from these types of books. Sorry.
-Boxed sets must be logged as separate books (because they are separate books.)
Example: Harry Potter Series Box Set
-If books are bound into one unit, you can log it as one as long as you read all the books bound together.
Example: The Clayborne Brides: One Pink Rose, One White Rose, One Red Rose

Game Play

-Each book read will be logged are receive points based on page length.
-Additional points can be earned if the book is used for ONLY ONE of the following:
-Tasks
-Bingo space
-Jackanory (story)

Team members can sign up for certain tasks/bingo spaces/story so people aren't duplicating efforts. But still, read what books you want, the captains will help you find a home for your books and we can usually move books around. Don't be afraid though to move a bit out of your comfort reading zone, you may end up being surprised.

I'm quite sure the number of tasks, bingo spaces etc seems overwhelming. PLEASE remember we have 3 months to get everything done. And a large team to do it, with some team members who read close to a book a day. Also, if you are at the other end of the reading spectrum (say 3 books a month), please do not get discouraged that others read more books than you. You are still a contributing member to this team and we want you here. Each TT team is a mix of heavy, medium, and light readers. The point is to have fun, meet new people, and learn about books you may not of otherwise come across.

BOM Points

Lexi pretty much covered the basics. But I wanted to make it clear that BOM points stack. Let's say you are selected to write at set of Discussion Questions (DQs) for a 300pg book. The points earned:
-30 points for reading the book (these are often standardized for BOMs)
-40 points for writing you day of DQs
-20 points for participating in the discussion (assuming you answer at least 3 sets of the DQs)
-5 points for task/bingo space/jackonary
Total points for this book: 95 points

I'll leave it at there for now. Please if you have questions about tasks, if a book works for this or that, ask them here in the thread.

Most questions Jen, Lexi or I can answer. I helped put this whole crazy thing together, but there maybe some things I need to take back for a consensus ruling so I don't inadvertently make a mod ruling without talking with the other mods.

Keely, I read Goodnight Mr. Tom as my summer reading before starting freshman year of high school. I have not thought about the book in ages.

Snowtulip, we seem to have very similar reading tastes so I will move Migrations up my TBR as I enjoyed your other two recommendations quite a bit.

Also, on a side note, my first graduate degree was from NCSU so yay to more NC folks (I was in Raleigh for 4 years).

Truitt, which series of S K Dunstall's would you recommend starting with? Also, I tend to like books that can stand alone even if they are in a series, like the Wayfarer series.

Finally, seconding if you have any questions feel free to ask in the thread. We know TTs can be confusing, and I never mind checking word counts on books so you don’t get told we can’t use it after the fact.

(On that note, I have at least two comics I need to read before TT starts).

Welcome Kirby! Walter sounds precious and I love him. Have you read anything by J. Barnes??

@Lexi, thank you so much for the clarification! What comics do you have stowed away?

@Snowtulip, I'm super excited to see more folks waiting with meeee. <3 My partner did the same! Every time he laughs, I demand that he tells me which part he's laughign at. It's fantastic and we've both reread them a couple of times now. I'll be kicking around after my moving day and would love to message and banter about our favorite bits of Network Effect!

@Tru, Yay! Yeah, I can't hold back on my rereads. I'm actually counting them for Perks' Uno Card challenge! RE: Outlander, I'm not sure if I won't stall out, too, but I couldn't resist to try them for my Novel RPG Game. Lol. I haven't read any of the Lord John books and have added them to my TBR list. I had to stop watching The Expanse as soon as I discovered it was a book series. Ahaha. So I'm a little more driven to read them, especially since I love the series so much. I LOVE TOM STOPPARD. My favorite is Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. I'm adding Arcadia to my list. And since we have similar tastes, I've thrown down S K Dunstall into my TBR list, too.

@Skandia, I am taking notes. These are all literary flavors I'm constantly looking for! Have you read The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, realism magic. A Criminal Magic by Lee Kelly is during the prohibition period, but instead of alcohol being prohibited, it's magic!

Redshirt, the three I am trying to get to are:

I Am Princess X - not actually a comic but MPG Graphic Novel so needs to be read before TTs
Aya: Life in Yop City - actual comic
The Down River People - I have an ARC and actual comic

Also, love Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

Joyce wrote: "I recommend
The Ten Thousand Doors of January
and The Golem and the Jinni its long but so good.

if looking for a fun series try the One for the Money"

I loved The Golem and the Jinni, it was actually the first audio book I ever listened to. Which looking back is impressive because it was like 25 hours or something. I keep hoping the sequel will come out. It's probably sitting next to GRR Martin's Winds of Winter.

I have Ten Thousand Doors in my audio queue and it keeps getting bumped for something else. Maybe it's time has finally come to be read :)

Snowtulip wrote: "So some recent favs for me...have to agree with The House in the Cerulean Sea...just brings me joy!

Yes! It's like a warm hug from a beloved family member. It is simply a lovely book.

Skandia wrote: "Hmm, these Murderbot series recs keep popping up everywhere and I'm very curious. Not a big sci-fi fan but now I must look it up!

My resent favorite read that I can recommend is [book:The Strange ..."

Ava Lavender is another lovely book, though definitely not a warm hug. But beautifully written. Also for those that do audios, the audio version was well done.

Judith, the sequel is scheduled to be published on June 8th - The Hidden Palace

Finally to my own recommendations. For those that love fantasy, I recommend Michael Sullivan to everyone. His books are wonderful, women are written as real people who can destroy you with sword, fist, word, or a look. Or all of the above. Which can be hard to find in epic fantasy especially. Bonus, his books aren't 1000 pages a piece.

My favorite series starts with Theft of Swords. But you can't go wrong with Age of Myth either. Audios are all well done here as well.

For those that like contemporary romance, I enjoyed The Brown Sisters Trilogy. Get a Life, Chloe Brown.

If you like mysteries (especially non gory or highly sexualized) and dogs I am really enjoying Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries. Killing Trail

Oh good! I know it’s been delayed a couple times.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is another one that gets a good chuckle out of me :)

Judith, I just finished the last two books in The Riyria Revelations, such great character development, I loved them!

Redshirt, I'll post as I start as I read Network Effect (with spoilers hidden of course for the newbies on the team that will start Murderbot addiction ;)

Lexi, if you get to Migrations, I'll be curious what you think...still sticks with me.

Skandia, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows was such a beautiful book and Sarah Addison Allen books are like candy to me, I can rely on those as a good comfort read.

Kirby wrote: "Hi Everyone! I'm a bit late as I hadn't checked my goodreads in a few days. My name is Kirby and I'm a student in North Carolina studying accounting. I've never done a Tower Teams before, so I'm al..."

Oh, pictures please Kirby!!

Jen wrote: "So, I decided to go back through my old comments in this group to figure out how many challenges I’ve participated in. It turns out that I did wobble once (with literally 0 recollection) and tower ..."

Sorry Jen, missed your question to the team on how many challenges and what are our faves :(

Tower Teams was my first big team challenge back in the day and that led to my challenge addiction and remains one of my favorites because of the flexibility with what we can read :D. Amazing Race was another challenge I enjoyed, can't recall if that was with this group or Perks group. I felt like I learned about different countries with that one and since I love to travel, it was great.

I have to say I haven't heard of 99% of the books you all are talking about. I did read The House in the Cerulean Sea and loved it and Get a Life, Chloe Brown - just okay- but those are the only ones I recognize. I can't really pick a favorite book, but my favorite authors are Kristen Ashley and Mariana Zapata - both romance authors.

Hello Librarians!

Team Moist has compiled some books in a listopia. Dive in, bring a towel...

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

If you have any recommendations to send our way, please do!!!!!
Hedgehogs, perhaps?

SandyL wrote: "I have to say I haven't heard of 99% of the books you all are talking about. I did read The House in the Cerulean Sea and loved it and Get a Life, Chloe Brown - just..."

Sandy, I have to read or listen to Kulti every year :)

Zapata is a favorite of mine as well. I can't believe I'm 2 books behind in reading her new books. I haven't gotten to Hands Down yet and then I saw she has a new one out.

I was having a quick look through the tasks, particularly the ones where you have to read a book off a certain list and there are a couple of books that I want to read that shows up in a few of them. Most noticably The Handmaid's Tale was in almost all of them, so I guess I've found the book I will be starting with. I wanted to read it this year anyway.

I also have a few classic books that are on the longer side (just over or close to 1,000 pages) on Audible which I will try and listen to over the course of this challenge.

I am glad this challenge focuses mostly on the length of the books as I made it a personal goal this year to read some of those larger books that I've had hanging about for too long.
I can't wait to start!

Hello from Team Rob, dropping in to invite you to check out some favorite reads from our team here

I'm with you Keely, even though I have plenty to read, I can't wait to start! Anticipation is always hard, and I just like finding books for tasks :D.

I'm trying really hard to use as many of my tbr books as I can for challenges, which can be it's own challenge.

Feel free to start claiming tasks on the tracking spreadsheet for planning. Just as Judith noted, be aware of how much you personally read. My usual guideline is don't claim more than you read in a week or two (be that one book or 10).

I have a few library books that I am getting grumpy emails from the library about that I am trying to read between now and May 15 when fines start back up.

Also, if anyone wants to sign up for backup for BOM questions for Equal Rites, I would be very grateful. You would only be necessary if something happens where I can't write questions for my day. It is the week of my PhD defense and Judith can't write any as she has read the book too recently. You have to have someone signed up for backup before days are picked and can't add someone later.

Hi Team Nanny Ogg here!
We’ve got some book recommendations. You can check them out here.
If you have any book recommendations, please send them our way :)
Good luck and have fun everyone!

Lexi wrote: "Also, if anyone wants to sign up for backup for BOM questions for Equal Rites, I would be very grateful. You would only be necessary if something happens where I can't write questions ..."

I'll sign up Lexi :)

Snowtulip wrote: "I'm with you Keely, even though I have plenty to read, I can't wait to start! Anticipation is always hard, and I just like finding books for tasks :D.

I'm trying really hard to use as many of my ..."

I do the same. I always refer to my TBR books first and then if I can't find anything to fit a certain task, I'll try my library app which usually has something.

Thank you Snowtulip, the BOM is a reread so it should not be bad but that makes me less stressed. Also, I saw you added Elatsoe to the SS. I love that book and hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Truitt_T wrote: "To all the Murderbot fans: oh yeah, count me in. Earlier in the month I finished my reread (re-listen, actually) of the original novellas and Network Effect and I can't wait for [bo..."

I am totally team Ranger..hot!

I've got a question. I am further along in the Discworld series than the books of the month. Do they still count as BOM points?

Joyce wrote: "I've got a question. I am further along in the Discworld series than the books of the month. Do they still count as BOM points?"

No, only those three count as BOM with the extra points. I will be rereading all three for this challenge. However, as the tasks were made from the books, you may find some of the tasks fit the specific Discworld book.

Lexi wrote: "Thank you Snowtulip, the BOM is a reread so it should not be bad but that makes me less stressed. Also, I saw you added Elatsoe to the SS. I love that book and hope you enjoy it as ..."

Good to hear about Elatsoe! It was a Christmas gift that I haven't gotten to so was glad it was on this list. I have a few stacks of "paper books" that I need to start giving some love.

For some reason I can read my kindle or listen to my audio books anywhere or anytime, but for some reason paperbooks have become this ritual where I have to have tea and snuggle into my favorite reading spot :)

Hey team! Sorry that I haven’t been active the last couple of days. I loved reading all of the recommendations! I’m in a slight reading slump at the moment but really hoping that the start of this competition will help push me back into reading. I’m also taking a mini vacation (Thursday-Tuesday) this coming week. So I’ve been trying to get caught up on my work and plan for a couple days out of the office.

Sorry I haven’t been by much in the last few days - I’ll try to do better! I love that this group is chatty. :)

Jen - You asked about previous challenges we’ve done. I’m new to GR (joined last December) so I haven’t had time to do many. I was part of the Spell Challenge in the M/M Romance group and I really enjoyed it - I’ll definitely do it again next year. I’m currently part of the TART challenge in the Romance Readers Reading Challenges group, which is another winner, and Scavenger Hunt in M/M Romance. Scavenger Hunt is proving more challenging than I expected - I’m not entirely certain how I feel about it yet. BINGO (also in the M/M Romance group) starts Friday and should be a dead easy one book a week effort, and then TT. I’m holding off on trying anything else for a bit, lol.

Lexi - Re: S.K. Dunstalll: I read about Stars Uncharted, read it and enjoyed it. I was frustrated that the sequel wasn’t out yet and went back and read their (the authors are two Australian sisters) first trilogy, the Linesman series. You can tell that the Linesman books are an earlier effort, but I like them enough that they’re on my reread/comfort read list. Neither series is the loosely linked style of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, but I hope you’ll try them anyway. And with no publication date (so far as I know) for another Stars Uncharted book, I’d start with Linesman.
I’m trying to finish some graphic novels before we start - I read all four of the Fence collected volumes this week.

Redshirt - I’m a fan of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, too, but I love Arcadia with an absurd passion. I saw it’s original Broadway run (Lincoln Center) and I walked out into the lobby at intermission and bought the script. I have longed to be in the show ever since, but community theaters won’t produce it - it’s “too intellectual.” Sigh.
And I hope you enjoy S.K. Dunstall, too.

Sandy, Snowtulip, and Judith - I’d never even heard of Mariana Zapata, but all three of you being fans caught my attention. Is there one of her books available on KU that you’d particularly recommend? If I enjoy it, I’ll break down and buy Kulti, Snowtulip.

Keely - I’ve probably read The Handmaid's Tale half a dozen times since it was published, and was thrilled that Margaret Atwood finally published a sequel. I hope you enjoy it (or them.)

Joyce - I’m team Ranger, too! There’s nothing wrong with Joe - it’s just that I’ve always felt that Ranger supports Stephanie in her endeavors, and respects her talents and abilities in a way Joe never has. Joe is what she’s supposed to want -- ok, I should stop now. I do not need to fall down this rabbit hole, lol.

I can't wait for us to get started!